The Joy in the Holiday
by Kathryn0505
Summary: Booth and Brennan spend Christmas Eve together. I'm pretending Season 6 hasn't happened.


**A/N: This didn't turn out how I expected, but oh well. I love Christmas and Bones, so I had to do this. And the lights on my Christmas tree went out TWICE, so I am at war with lights right now. =]**

**And to one person out there reading this, I love you tons. You know who you are. :P **

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* * *

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Swirling the wine in her glass, Brennan leans back on her couch and takes a deep breath. She knows it's not rational, but being alone this Christmas Eve has left her feeling distinctly lonely, something which she never would have felt before on Christmas.

But things have changed over the last few years, and she has to conclude that she has changed as well. Her father and brother being in her life, the growing friendships in the lab, and all the time she has been spending with her friends (she ignores the part of her that insisted that it is _Booth _who has influenced her the most) has made her a little more open.

And apparently, a little lonely on Christmas.

Out of the corner of her eyes she sees some of the lights on her Christmas tree go out and she bites back a groan. Even her Christmas tree doesn't want to cooperate. Nothing is right this Christmas.

As she places her glass on the table and gets up to fix her tree, she hears a knock on her door.

Of course, who should be at her door but Booth?

"Hey, Bones," he smiles. "How's your Christmas Eve?" He gazes behind her to her defective tree. "Uh-oh. That doesn't look so good."

"I realize that," she replies, following his gaze. "It would seem that I didn't decorate the tree correctly. One of the fuses probably blew."

"Well!" he grins. "We can fix that."

She can't quite pinpoint when Seeley Booth transformed from being the most insufferable man on the planet to being her best friend, but she knows that his presence warms her immediately.

She lets him in without a word.

* * *

"Okay, Bones, do you have any extra fuses?" He is staring at her tree with such a look of determination that she almost has to laugh. But then he is looking at _her_ and all she can do is manage an affirmative response.

"Great, we'll have this thing fixed in no time." He looks at her a moment longer before she turns away to sift through a box in the corner of the room.

He takes the opportunity to observe her. She is wearing a plain blue tank top and flannel pajama pants. Her hair, slightly damp, is pulled into a loose ponytail that skims her neck. Some of the strands have fallen out of the elastic and she pushes them out of her eyes impatiently. Something feels off about her, but he decides to wait to pester her about it.

"Found it!" she exclaims, pulling out a tiny bag of extra light bulbs. She turns, ending his chance to gaze at her. She walks over to him, digging in the bag to find the tiny fuses. "Here," she says triumphantly, handing them over to him as she makes her way past to fuss with the tree.

He can smell her shampoo as she walks by, can feel the warmth from her bare skin, and for a moment he is lost.

* * *

"Bones, what did you do?" he sighs dramatically from his seat next to her on the ground. "Haven't you decorated your tree enough times to know that you can't string all the lights on one strand?"

She rolls her eyes at his tone, but smiles. "Until a few years ago I had never bothered with a tree because I didn't wish to celebrate. But recently I would just buy a predecorated tree. This is the first year I've tried to light the tree myself, so it seems that I am a little… unskilled."

He pushes back a wave of sadness as images of all those Christmases she spent alone and without family come to his mind and replies, "You, Bones? Unskilled at something? I'm shocked."

"It happens occasionally," she teases back. "I can admit to my weaknesses. That is a necessary step in order to begin the process of improving my skills."

He laughs, and she is struck by the look in his eyes when he turns to face her. It is amusement, but it is something else as well. Something like… fondness.

"We're going to need a screwdriver," he says, breaking her moment.

But as she gets up to find a screwdriver, she swears she can feel his gaze following her, and it _feels_ as though her heart has started to swell, even though that is medically unlikely.

* * *

"Okay, lesson one in tree lighting," he tells her. "Don't attach all the strands together. You'll blow a fuse, which I then have to fix."

She knocks his shoulder with hers, and watches as he unplugs the strands that aren't working.

"But what else should we be doing on Christmas Eve but fixing your lights?" he continues. He watches as her gaze becomes a bit sad. "How was your early Christmas?"

She sighs. "I understand that Russ and Amy want to go to her parents' home for Christmas and that it made sense for my dad and me to go celebrate with them before, but it's still…" she trails off, unsure what she really wants to say.

"Crappy?" Booth supplies. "Even if it makes sense, it doesn't mean it's any less depressing to be alone on Christmas."

She looks up and sees him unplugging the second strand from the first before plugging the first strand of lights into the outlet. They wait a moment, and the lights do not come on.

"The first one is blown," he says.

"If that's true, plugging the second strand into the outlet should cause all the other lights in that link to come on," she contributes. She leans over and grabs the second strand, unplugs the first, and plugs in the second. The strands light.

"You're correct," she states. She notices that he is slightly tense next to her, and she ponders for a moment. "I'm sorry you don't have Parker on Christmas, Booth."

"I get him the 26th. That's almost as good." His words sound hopeful, but even she can tell by his tone that he is upset.

"I'm still sorry, Booth." She lays a hand on his arm.

He turns to look at her and replies sincerely, "Thanks, Bones." But he waits a moment before turning back toward the tree, and another moment has passed that is _theirs_.

* * *

"Let me do it, Booth," she insists.

"Alright," he surrenders, handing over the plug of the first strand. "Knock yourself out."

"Why would I want to do that?" she asks, purposely obtuse.

He suddenly has a feeling that they are playing a game, and takes his turn.

"Figure of speech," he replies.

He watches as she takes the screwdriver and slides the top of the switch off before removing the fried fuses. She has that look of intense concentration on her face, and suddenly he is very aware of how close they are sitting.

She has replaced the fuses and slid the top of the plug back on. She reaches across him to plug the strand in, and it lights.

"Good job, Bones."

"It would be unwise to reattach the strand to the rest. The fuse will simply blow again," she replies.

"Well, let's find the middle of the strand link and unplug it, and then run an extension cord to the second half," he answers.

She nods in agreement, and they begin at the second strand, following it around branches until they find the third, and then the fourth. They are silent, but it is comfortable. He is upset about his situation with Parker, but as his hand brushes against hers in an effort to continue following the lights, he has to admit that this is nearly as good.

"How many strands are on this?" he asks.

"Seven, I believe."

"Okay, then." He unplugs the fourth strand from the fifth. She reattaches the first strand to the second and plugs it into the outlet, watching as the bottom half of the tree lights. He grabs an extension cord and runs it to the fifth before plugging the extension cord into the outlet as well.

They stand back and take pride in their work as her tree is once again completely lit.

"We make a good team, Booth."

"Yeah, we do," he agrees.

It's about more than just fixing her Christmas lights.

* * *

They are sitting too close together to really be considered friendly, but neither care. It is almost Christmas, and his presence and the wine she has already consumed is making her feel relaxed.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" he asks her. He brings his beer to his lips and watches as she thinks for a moment.

"Nothing," she replies. "I'll probably work on my novel."

"That's boring," he replies. "Come to the diner with me."

Her lights twinkle in the background, and suddenly she feels this Christmas is so much better than she had imagined. "Alright," she agrees, before she begins to yawn.

"You should go to bed," he replies. "I'll get out of your hair."

"You shouldn't drive. You've been drinking. Stay in the guest bedroom," she requests.

And even though he has barely started his second beer, he agrees. He thinks of what it means that they'll wake up on Christmas morning together, but ignores the part of himself that says it's not _together_ in the way that he wants.

As they get up to make their way out of the living room, he takes a look at the clock. "Hey! It's after midnight. Christmas day!"

She stops to turn to him, only slightly surprised when he reaches over and puts his arms around her, pulling her to him.

"Merry Christmas, Bones," he says, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Merry Christmas," she replies, allowing herself to relax into his embrace, to relish the feel of his arms around her.

Reluctantly parting, they make their way to their bedrooms.

She pauses in her doorway. "Thank you for your help, Booth."

"I'm here anytime, Bones," he replies.

And she believes him.


End file.
